Ha! You didn’t think I’d actually do this today, did you?
Last weekend, for New Year’s Eve, we played an over-priced show at thee Parkside, opening for… the Groovie Ghoulies! Who’re overrated and played for too long. Also performing that night, though, were the Hi-Fives. I wasn’t sure what to expect, since Kendra had told me that their former re-unions had been under-whelming and Chris himself said that they’d only practiced once since their last show (two years ago) and didn’t expect it to go too well.
They were great. They seemed really excited to be onstage again with a bunch of old friends in attendance. They rarely sounded at all sloppy, and the songs, of course, were awesome. Afterwards, all of our necks hurt from the non-stop head-bopping. There was also something interesting about them that I’ve noticed in other “Kendra bands” (the Evaporators, the Smugglers). Certain members have stage personas that they slip on and off like a Grecian mask. Definitely fake, but not really in the egotistical "Darby Crash" fashion. Definitely not the macho ’tudes you’d see in most suit-sporting rock bands, anyway. After all, it’s just entertainment.
Of course, being a reunion show, it was a little depressing. Comparing their faces to those on the back of the first Neer-do-wells 7” certainly shows the disheartening passage of time. However, watching a Sweet Baby Jesus bootleg Kendra just gave me, I witnessed the same temporal phenomenon in a non-depressing light. The DVD features performances from Gilman, when the club, and myself, were still in our earliest stages of existence. But to my surprise, I saw one or two KALX celebrities in the crowd, doing the same shit they’re doing these days. That’s pretty awesome. It was almost as surprising as finding a performance of “Daddy Cool” that didn’t make me want to vomit.
They were great. They seemed really excited to be onstage again with a bunch of old friends in attendance. They rarely sounded at all sloppy, and the songs, of course, were awesome. Afterwards, all of our necks hurt from the non-stop head-bopping. There was also something interesting about them that I’ve noticed in other “Kendra bands” (the Evaporators, the Smugglers). Certain members have stage personas that they slip on and off like a Grecian mask. Definitely fake, but not really in the egotistical "Darby Crash" fashion. Definitely not the macho ’tudes you’d see in most suit-sporting rock bands, anyway. After all, it’s just entertainment.
Of course, being a reunion show, it was a little depressing. Comparing their faces to those on the back of the first Neer-do-wells 7” certainly shows the disheartening passage of time. However, watching a Sweet Baby Jesus bootleg Kendra just gave me, I witnessed the same temporal phenomenon in a non-depressing light. The DVD features performances from Gilman, when the club, and myself, were still in our earliest stages of existence. But to my surprise, I saw one or two KALX celebrities in the crowd, doing the same shit they’re doing these days. That’s pretty awesome. It was almost as surprising as finding a performance of “Daddy Cool” that didn’t make me want to vomit.